actually Nathaniel Powell. The Nathaniel Powell.”
It wasn’t the usual reaction he got, especially from pretty young women. He looked to Archer for help as he stumbled through a response. “Uh, thank you. Yes.”
Archer shook his head with a laugh and poured two glasses of whiskey. “Grace follows your work. Apparently, your weapons are quite popular with underworld traders.”
Nate blinked at Grace, utterly taken aback. “You’re involved with black-market weapons smuggling?”
“Not anymore. These days I teach school.” She grinned at him as she took his hat and coat. “Though I won’t deny that the thought has crossed my mind of late. Crystal Springs needs money to rebuild, and I am familiar with the market. It’s a pity I’d have a hard time sneaking past the town’s lawman, seeing as how I sleep with him every night.”
“That you would, love.” Archer dropped his hat on the back of a chair and picked up his glass. “Diana’s off with Samuels. I reckon she’ll be along shortly.”
Grace made an annoyed noise, and Nate decided to like her. Especially when she said, “He certainly didn’t waste any time, for all the good it will do him.”
“A man never knows if he doesn’t try,” Archer said mildly, but with a meaningful look at Nate.
Nate took the silent rebuke without comment. Instead, he changed the topic back to the task at hand. “While you were working the Deadlands, did you ever hear rumors of a bloodhound allied with vampires?” A pointed sort of question, since Archer himself had struck a devil’s bargain with the vampire who’d turned Nate.
And Archer didn’t shy away from it. “You mean besides me?”
No, there was nothing sweet and innocent about Grace. Her eyes narrowed, and her voice took on a protective edge sharp enough to flay skin from bones. “You weren’t allied with vampires. You followed the instructions of your Guild and they left you to take the blame for their folly.”
The world had become a truly terrifying place when Nate couldn’t open his mouth without enraging a woman, but Archer was happily in love. “My apologies,” Nate murmured. “I wasn’t implying—”
“I know exactly what you were implying,” she interrupted. “You’re not a man accustomed to having to shield his thoughts and feelings, and I can read yours like an open book.”
Archer laid a hand on her arm. “Relax, honey. Nate and I understand each other.” He arched an eyebrow. “I heard rumors of hounds working with vampires, of course. I also heard rumors of Martians landing a craft out in the desert in preparation for invasion, but I wouldn’t put any stock in it.”
Nate frowned. “There was at least one rogue hound around these parts—Diana is proof of that. But if you never heard any rumors more substantial than the usual wild tales…” He shook his head. “It doesn’t add up. The sort of skill it takes to avoid notice is incompatible with the carelessness of killing humans during the full moon. How many unregulated bloodhounds can there be?”
“No clue. I don’t have the answers you want.” Archer held up one finger. “But I know who might—a fellow named Jonah Knight. He owns a, uh, hotel of sorts in Eternity. The Black Lily.”
“Of sorts?” Surely if Archer had meant a brothel, he would have said as much. A woman who had traded in illegal, modified weapons couldn’t be that easily shocked.
But Grace was frowning too. “Whose tender sensibilities are you worried about, love? His or mine?”
“His, of course.” Archer groaned reluctantly. “It’s a private club. Sex and blood, but not for sale.”
It took Nate a moment too long to understand, and when he finally did the words tripped out of his mouth, laced with disbelief. “You’re sending us to a private sex club ?”
Chapter Four
It took Diana three hours, a multitude of decreasingly gentle hints and finally one ugly argument before Jesse stopped pleading his suit.
He wanted to
It wasn’t the usual reaction he got, especially from pretty young women. He looked to Archer for help as he stumbled through a response. “Uh, thank you. Yes.”
Archer shook his head with a laugh and poured two glasses of whiskey. “Grace follows your work. Apparently, your weapons are quite popular with underworld traders.”
Nate blinked at Grace, utterly taken aback. “You’re involved with black-market weapons smuggling?”
“Not anymore. These days I teach school.” She grinned at him as she took his hat and coat. “Though I won’t deny that the thought has crossed my mind of late. Crystal Springs needs money to rebuild, and I am familiar with the market. It’s a pity I’d have a hard time sneaking past the town’s lawman, seeing as how I sleep with him every night.”
“That you would, love.” Archer dropped his hat on the back of a chair and picked up his glass. “Diana’s off with Samuels. I reckon she’ll be along shortly.”
Grace made an annoyed noise, and Nate decided to like her. Especially when she said, “He certainly didn’t waste any time, for all the good it will do him.”
“A man never knows if he doesn’t try,” Archer said mildly, but with a meaningful look at Nate.
Nate took the silent rebuke without comment. Instead, he changed the topic back to the task at hand. “While you were working the Deadlands, did you ever hear rumors of a bloodhound allied with vampires?” A pointed sort of question, since Archer himself had struck a devil’s bargain with the vampire who’d turned Nate.
And Archer didn’t shy away from it. “You mean besides me?”
No, there was nothing sweet and innocent about Grace. Her eyes narrowed, and her voice took on a protective edge sharp enough to flay skin from bones. “You weren’t allied with vampires. You followed the instructions of your Guild and they left you to take the blame for their folly.”
The world had become a truly terrifying place when Nate couldn’t open his mouth without enraging a woman, but Archer was happily in love. “My apologies,” Nate murmured. “I wasn’t implying—”
“I know exactly what you were implying,” she interrupted. “You’re not a man accustomed to having to shield his thoughts and feelings, and I can read yours like an open book.”
Archer laid a hand on her arm. “Relax, honey. Nate and I understand each other.” He arched an eyebrow. “I heard rumors of hounds working with vampires, of course. I also heard rumors of Martians landing a craft out in the desert in preparation for invasion, but I wouldn’t put any stock in it.”
Nate frowned. “There was at least one rogue hound around these parts—Diana is proof of that. But if you never heard any rumors more substantial than the usual wild tales…” He shook his head. “It doesn’t add up. The sort of skill it takes to avoid notice is incompatible with the carelessness of killing humans during the full moon. How many unregulated bloodhounds can there be?”
“No clue. I don’t have the answers you want.” Archer held up one finger. “But I know who might—a fellow named Jonah Knight. He owns a, uh, hotel of sorts in Eternity. The Black Lily.”
“Of sorts?” Surely if Archer had meant a brothel, he would have said as much. A woman who had traded in illegal, modified weapons couldn’t be that easily shocked.
But Grace was frowning too. “Whose tender sensibilities are you worried about, love? His or mine?”
“His, of course.” Archer groaned reluctantly. “It’s a private club. Sex and blood, but not for sale.”
It took Nate a moment too long to understand, and when he finally did the words tripped out of his mouth, laced with disbelief. “You’re sending us to a private sex club ?”
Chapter Four
It took Diana three hours, a multitude of decreasingly gentle hints and finally one ugly argument before Jesse stopped pleading his suit.
He wanted to
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